Ulead DVD MovieFactory 3 Disc Creator

Pros: Adds handy new features like multitrim support and real-time preview of motion thumbnails and menus. Very intuitive slide show interface.Cons: Small, fixed UI and confusing trim tools. Limited options for DVD navigation. Bottom line: Although Ulead's DVD MovieFactory 3 Disc Creator is a competent product, it simply can't compete with some of the better software in this market, namely Sonic Solutions' MyDVD Video Suite.

Review:With digital video cameras and DVD burners finally becoming affordable to mainstream consumers, it's not surprising that the entry-level DVD authoring market has suddenly exploded. One of the latest entries is Ulead's DVD MovieFactory 3 Disc Creator. While Ulead has added some good features, we found problems... Click here to read the .

Ulead DVD MovieFactory 3 Disc Creator

With digital video cameras and DVD burners finally becoming affordable to mainstream consumers, it's not surprising that the entry-level DVD authoring market has suddenly exploded. One of the latest entries is Ulead's DVD MovieFactory 3 Disc Creator. While Ulead has added some good features, we found problems with the program's interface.

MovieFactory now boasts premastering functionssuch as disc copying and CD audio productionin addition to the DVD-authoring and tape-conversion functions the program already had. The program also includes a DVD Player applet that you can burn onto your DVD discs, ensuring that users can play the video on their PCs.

We were glad to see that MovieFactory now includes splitting and trimming controls for audio and video. We love the multitrim tool that lets you select multiple in and out points for your video. Unfortunately, the manual trim controls are a mess. After you split a video, it inexplicably turns into three clips: the original presplit file and the two postsplit segments. And we hate that you trim your videos in one screen and insert transitions in another, complicating precise edits. Also, DVDs you create are limited to sequential and chapter menus.

Ulead has significantly enhanced MovieFactory's slide show capabilities, adding transitions, rotation, automatic brightness and color enhancement, and the ability to match slide duration to background audio. But there's no pan and zoom effects or cropping controls as in competing programs.

To test performance, we burned a 60-minute project
to DVD in real time. The video quality was good and audio
synchronization was perfect. We then produced a two-
menu DVD with a 12-minute video and 4-minute slide show with synchronized background audio. MovieFactory took 14 minutes 15 seconds to render and burn the project (on an HP x4100 workstation with a 3.2 GHz Pentium 4 processor). Its competitors' times were all slower, with MyDVD closest (14:20), Roxio next (16:59), and Pinnacle Studio a distant 32:00.

So while speed is a strong point, Ulead has a tough bar to clear, thanks to Sonic's MyDVD. If MovieFactory 3 comes preloaded on a new PC, give it a try. If you're buying it yourself, Sonic's entry is the stronger choice.

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